Donna McKechnie Headlines Column Awards

Donna McKechnie, who won a Tony for playing Cassie in the original A Chorus Line, will be the featured performer at John Garcia's The Column Awards. The awards, in which local theater artists and patrons vote for their favorite shows, performers and designers, are 8 p.m. March 14 at Irving Arts Center's Carpenter Performance Hall. (Cocktail reception begins at 7 p.m.)

The event will be co-hosted by Max von Essen, who was in the tour of Xanadu that came to Dallas in 2010, and is currently doing Michael John LaChiusa's Hello Again off-Broadway; and Tyler Maynard, who originated the role of Mark in Altar Boyz off-Broadway, and was in The Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins on Broadway.

Here is a list of nominations, which divides shows into Equity/Non-Equity, and musical/play, categories. The theaters with the most nominations this year are Uptown Players (57), Artisan Theater Center (55), Plaza Theatre Company (44), Theatre Three (37) and ICT Mainstage (26).

The awards raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Tickets are $25 for general admission, and $50 for VIP. Learn more here.

Here is TheaterJones' interview with McKechnie when she performed her one-woman show at Lyric Stage in 2009.